F4H-1 Phantom Early Phlights at Patuxent River - 1959 - Airailimages McDonnell F-4 Phantom

Silent color film from the National Archives shows an early McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II jet fighter in flight tests at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in August 1959.
The Phantom II was a logical design progression from McDonnell's single-engine F3H Demon for the Navy, and the Air Force's twin-engine F-101 Voodoo.
Cast as a high-altitude, long-range fighter, the F4H carried only missiles, and was designed without a gun. A back-seater would handle radar tasks for the new fighter. XF4H-1 and YF4H-1 test aircraft were ordered. The Phantom II relied on a pair of powerful J79 jet engines to give it a speed in excess of 1,400 miles an hour.
During the development of the F4H-1, several visible design changes were introduced. The outer wing panels were given pronounced dihedral and the horizontal stabilizers received anhedral -- downward canting -- that improved handling. A change in radar necessitated a change in nose diameter. The cockpit canopies underwent revisions from the early Phantoms to the shape used on full production aircraft. Those in this film have the early canopies with notably less field of view for the back-seater.
With the 1962 adoption of universal nomenclature for the aircraft of all American military branches, the first full production version of the Phantom became the F-4B for the Navy.
This historic film includes air-to-air footage that is badly underexposed. We made efforts to bring out a viewable image. Sit back and enjoy the early days of the Phantom.

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